There is an epic heap of nonsense out there about the Third Eye Chakra (called the Ajna in sanskrit).
Most people will never Truly open the third eye, because their intent sends them in the opposite direction of awakening to non-perceptual Truth.
If you are looking for psychic powers, that’s fine, but this isn’t the article for you.
Most people want to open the third eye for what they perceive to be super human powers.
Chasing after super powers is a mistake if you are interested in sincere spiritual growth.
These are a few common ones:
Seeing the Aura: The most common reason I hear people give for wanting to see the aura is so they can tell if someone is lying. Mundane methods of lie detection (reading body language and tonality) are more consistent and easier to learn. Once you open your third eye, you will have a knowingness when someone else is lying, but it will come from your own dedication to Truth (and/or the lack of it in a given person, statement, belief, etc.). You might not see it… you might just feel it. Seeing/feeling the aura is a potential benefit (some see it as a side-effect, rather than a benefit) of opening the third eye, not the goal.
Precognition: You don’t need to open the third eye to have glimpses of the possible future. If you really want to know what is most likely to happen in the future, you only need to do 2 things. First, let go of your addiction to your own perspective and your aversion to contrary perspectives. Second, study history and current trends… looking beyond the emotional and/or political spin that is placed on them, and then allow yourself to see what is most likely to happen next. When you have truly let go of the emotions and perceptual delusions around history and current events, it almost looks like a simple mathematical sequence. Fill in the blank: 2, 4, 6, _ (the only reason you know the answer to this, is you have little or no emotional attachment to the numbers displayed, or to the answer. If you had this little emotional investment in history and current events, what is most likely to happen next would become as obvious as the number 8 was in the preceding numeric sequence)
Channeling: Why people want to talk to some obscure spiritual companion in another dimension is beyond me (other than the fact that there seems to be lots of profit to be made if you can convince enough people). The frightening thing about this, is I do strongly suspect most of the people who claim to channel are actually in communication with a non human entity (although I know there are some con-men out there as well). The frightening thing, is the assumption of the entity’s good will. Assuming the entity has positive intent is dangerous and foolish. If some strange person showed up wanting you to share their message with the world, hopefully you would exercise some caution. If the strange person isn’t human, or even organic, hopefully you would exercise a little more caution. People who don’t exercise caution deserve a polite warning, but will likely have to suffer the consequences of foolishness and arrogance before they begin developing real wisdom (the Carlos Castaneda books aren’t the best out there, but The Art of Dreaming is an enjoyable read and it offers a good example of seeing ‘spiritual’ entities appear friendly and then having their real intent revealed).
If you have any of these desires, and you are still reading… it speaks very highly of you. Recognizing them, and letting them go is a powerful step toward real insight.
To begin the opening of the Third Eye Chakra, set your intent to let go of your desire to gain something, and sincerely open yourself to Truth and Insight… gradually it will begin to reveal itself.
Godspeed on your journey!